Chasing the Darkness
by CrimsonLink
Summary: When Pewdie and Cry's car is sabotaged, they get stranded out in the middle of a huge forest. They don't know where to go, what to do, or who to find for help. All they have is each other... Or at least, that was what they thought. Pewdiepie x Cry. Based off the game Slender: The Eight Pages. Rated for cursing, horror-like elements, yaoi/shonen-ai, etc...
1. Chapter 1

_**WARNINGS: Contains cursing, boy x boy material, and horror-like elements. Additionally, all characters in this fic are property of their respected owners. I view the PewDieCry pairing as a result of their personas and not the as the real people themselves. Therefore I will not use the character's real names in this story (with the exception of Marzia, simply because everyone's used to calling her "Marzia" and not "CutiePie"). Please read at your own risk.**_

_**So without further ado, enjoy!**_

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**Chapter 1**

"Pewds…What the _hell_ have you gotten us into?"

I scratched the back of my head and shrugged awkwardly. "Ehmm, I'm sorry, Cry, I really needed your help looking for it! I didn't think _that_ was gonna happen." I notioned over to the car. Somehow all four of the tires had been punctured and deflated; now it was completely useless, seeing as we didn't have any spares or patches. We might as well have run out of gas or had the engine give out. There was no way we were going to continue our drive any time soon.

Cry was not amused. "Regardless of what you intended, we are now stranded out here, and it's starting to get dark out." He sighed exasperatedly.

"I'm sorry, okay? Geez!" I said, pressing my palm against my face. I felt so stupid right now. This whole situation was all my fault…

_**~Half an hour ago~**_

"_WHOOOOO! I FEEL ALIVE!"I cried out enthusiastically. I fumbled with the video camera for a few seconds but managed to turn it around so it was recording my face. I stuck out my tongue and laughed. "Best vacation EVER!"_

_Cry glanced at me briefly and laughed, then returned his eyes to the road. "You're crazy, Pewds. Why are you even recording this anyway?" He turned the wheel slightly as the rocky path curved to the right. _

"_Because I feel like it!" I laughed some more as he shook his head, chuckling at how hyper I was being._

_We were driving to a cottage that Cry owned up in southern Illinois. It had taken a lot of planning and luck, but we eventually found a time slot in which we could meet up and hang out over the summer. I had met up with the gamer in real life several times before, but those times were far and few between. Even despite that, we were as close friends as anyone could get._

_Anyways, the plan was for me to fly to Florida and meet Cry at his house, where we would then pack up our stuff and go on a 24-hour-long road trip. Finally, we would get to spend two and a half weeks at the cottage hanging out, swimming, making bonfires every night, etcetera. This was gonna be _so _freaking awesome! It was too bad Marzia couldn't come to do this with us (she had other plans with her friends, and we mutually agreed that it would be okay to have some time apart while we partied). But I knew Cry and I would have a blast regardless; after all, we always did._

_Right now we had about 3 hours left of driving. We had already crossed the border into Illinois, and the scenery had gradually changed from flat plains to the full-blow forest we were currently in._

_I faced my video camera back to look out the passenger seat window. "Damn, this forest is getting really thick. The sun's not even shining through some parts." Wanting to get a better shooting angle, I rolled down the window and stuck my arm outside it while holding the camera._

_Suddenly, I saw something strange up ahead. I leaned forward and unbuckled my seatbelt, trying to crane my arm around the side of the car and film it. It appeared to be a tall man wearing a suit, for some reason standing among the trees on the side of the road. _

"_Who the hell is that?" I wondered aloud as I climbed further out of my seat._

_Apparently at this moment Cry decided to glance over to me again. I could only imagine his look of surprise when he saw me hanging halfway out the window, my rear sticking straight up in the air. "Pewdie, Get back in your seat."_

_I shook my head. "No, seriously, who the hell is that? What are they doing?" As the figure got closer, I tried to steady the camera in my hand. This was really weird, and I needed to get it on film. It's not every day you see a guy in a suit standing in the middle of the forest._

"_I don't care if that's the freaking Pope, you're gonna fall right out the window! And I'm not paying for your medical bills."_

_Now the figure was really getting close, but for some reason I was having trouble getting a good view of him. "Cry, just look at this guy! He's—SHIT!" My eyes suddenly widened as we passed over a particularly large road bump, causing the camera to slip right out of my grasp and tumble down the side of the pavement._

"'_He's shit?' What kinda' drugs are you on, friend?"_

"_No no, that's not what I meant! Stop the car! Stop!" I cried out._

_The brunette seemed to give me a questioning look before slowing down to a stop. The second he pulled over I flung the car door open and frantically got out. "My camera! Do you see it anywhere?!"_

_He shook his head. "Nope. See, now if you listened to me you wouldn't've dropped it in the first place."_

"_I know!" I said. I sprinted back the way we came, scanning the road for my missing—and by the way, __very_ _expensive—recording device. "Just help me find it! Marzia's gonna kill me if she finds out I lost it!" I stopped running at around the point where the camera fell._

_The gamer slightly adjusted the mask adorning his face before jogging to catch up with me. He looked around briefly then clapped a hand over my shoulder, shrugging nonchalantly. "Well, I don't see it anywhere. I guess you're screwed."_

_I lightly pushed him away and frowned. "Aw come on! Don't give up so quick—it's gotta be around here somewhere. It probably fell off the side of the road, or something."_

_We spent the next twenty minutes or so walking aimlessly around the giant trees and vegetation, keeping our eyes peeled for the small black item. Pretty soon I started losing hope, and we eventually called it quits and made our way back to the car._

_That was when we found the sabotaged tires._

"_What the hell happened to your car?" I asked as we walked up to the blue Honda. I couldn't believe it. What could possibly have caused this?_

"_I don't know, friend," he responded softly, "I don't know…"_

_**~Present time~**_

"What do we do now?" I finally said, trying to swallow the guilt festering up inside my stomach.

The brunette stood in thought for a moment before fishing through his pockets. He pulled out his iPhone, holding it up in the air and waving it around at different heights. "No signal. Figures."

I pulled out my phone and got the same results. This was bad, _very_ bad. The sun was just barely hovering over the horizon, and when it disappeared, the two of us would be stuck in the middle of a forest at night, with most likely no civilization around for miles. Not only that, but nobody knew where we were, not even Marzia—she probably thought we were at the cottage already, or nearing it.

It was like the perfect scenario for a horror game. _How appropriate, _I bitterly thought to myself.

The two of us stood there uncomfortably, trying to figure out what to do. If we couldn't call anyone and we couldn't drive, what were we supposed to do? Walk?

…..

…Nah, that was insane. Totally insane.

"…I don't—"

"—I think we gotta walk." Cry suddenly interrupted, turning to me. His face was perfectly still, like a statue.

"But…" His words puzzled me for a moment, but then I got it and cracked a smile. "Haha! Good one, Cry!"

I playfully shoved him in the shoulder. Much to my confusion, however, he didn't return the enthusiasm. Instead, the American's eyes retained their cold look of solemnity. That didn't—I mean, he _was _joking, he _had_ to be joking.

"Wait a sec, are you being…serious here?" I shoved him once more.

He promptly nodded. "Yep."

I felt my fists nervously clench and unclench. That was a terrible, terrible idea! We would be out in this enormous forest by ourselves with no connection to the outside world and no idea what was in store for us. If we left the car, anything could happen. _Anything._

"Cry, you know how I am with… y'know…" I trailed off. I couldn't bear to say it out loud; I'd sound like a pussy.

The other man faintly laughed. "Pewdie, there's nothing out here except a bunch of trees and stuff," he said reassuringly, scruffling my hair like I was a little kid, "It's okay. Nothin's gonna happen, okay? I promise." He headed back to the vehicle and started rummaging through the car seat pockets, most likely searching for things we could take with us.

I sighed. I knew he was right; as much as I didn't want to admit it, we really had no other option but to walk. I just couldn't help but feel a twinge of…well, something, something not good. Something unsettling. I would try my best to brush it off, but I doubted that would work for very long.

With that in mind, I made my way over to Cry as he searched the interior of the car. It was a bit difficult to see his face (the mask usually covered most of it), but I thought I saw a glimpse of a frown underneath the white cover. I looked over his shoulder to see what he had found so far.

He was holding a bunch of stuff in his hands. "M'kay, so I found the emergency medical kit plus a flashlight and a couple of batteries." The items were dropped into my hands, and I examined them. The medical kit had some antibiotic ointment, bandages, scissors to cut said bandages, medical tape, and a few alcoholic wipes. The flashlight was pretty small—about the size of a coffee mug—and when I turned it on, the light only reached out about twelve feet in front of us. I quickly turned it off again, for we only had one replacement of spare batteries, and we needed to save it.

Then I noticed we were missing something. "What about the map?" I asked as Cry handed me a couple of water bottles and snacks.

"Can't find it," he responded unhappily, climbing deeper into the passenger's seat, "That's really weird—I put it on top of the dashboard when we were still driving. But now it's gone."

"It can't just disappear like that," I added in. It wasn't like a freaking map could get up and walk off by itself—it was a map! The only way for that to happen would be if somebody… "Oh, man. Jävla fan."

"English, please."

I grabbed the brunette by the shoulders and pulled him out of the car, flipping him around so he faced me. "Cry… Cry, what if there's someone here? What if they took the map and slashed the tires on purpose? What if they're trying to strand us here? What if—"

I was silenced by the other's hand over my mouth. "Pewds, I told you not to worry! There's nothin' out here, remember? Now just relax and take a deep breath. You've been playing too many horror games, I think."

_Well, no __shit__, that's my freaking job! What did he expect?_ I was tempted to roll my eyes but quickly decided against it. Instead I took the advice and tried to calm down again. Like I mentioned before, Cry was right. He had to be. Cry was always right. Right?

When he was sure I wasn't going to scream bloody murder, my best friend lowered his palm from my mouth and turned back around to continue searching the car. I, on the other hand, put the items on the ground, walked to the other side of the car, and sat cross-legged on the hood.

As the sun began disappearing below the tops of the trees, my mind began wandering back to Marzia. I really wished I could call her right now or reach her in some way. I wondered if she was thinking about me, hoping I was having as much fun as she probably was with her friends in Italy. If I could at least hear that bright, almost child-like voice, I would not be nearly as nervous as I currently was. Marzia always found a way to make me happy, and that was why I loved her. A part of me wished she was here with me, despite the fact that this was a pretty dangerous situation.

But at least I was with Cry... If I had been out here by myself, I wouldn't know what to do.

The sky was completely dark now. The moon illuminated the tops of the trees and the road, but the forest was so dense that it didn't reach the ground. I stared out at the rocky path our car had been travelling along, thankful that some natural light was shed on it. _Wouldn't it be awful if we had to walk through the trees instead?_

Just as that thought passed through my mind, something funny caught the corner of my eye. I looked over to the left to see a tall man standing in the shadows, just out of reach of the moonlight.

_Is that the same guy as before? _I wondered, blinking rapidly to make sure I wasn't just seeing things. _If so, why the hell is he wearing a suit out here?_

I quickly turned my head back to the American. "Hey Cry, it's that weird guy again. Look at him!"

He climbed out of the seat and followed the direction of my pointed finger. "Liar. You suck."

_What? _I snapped my head back over to the left to see that the person was gone. "I swear, he was right there a second ago!" How did that happen?

"Seriously, friend, stop saying stuff like that. I don't see anything. You're starting to creep me out..." The gamer shook his head and climbed back into the car, his face once again obscured from view.

I opened my mouth to say something but closed it again. I was already on edge, but there was no reason to make Cry the same way, too. I rubbed my arms, trying to make the goosebumps go away. Maybe he was right—maybe playing all of those horror games really did make my imagination go insane… There was nothing out here. Nobody was trying to strand us out here. The map was probably stuck somewhere in the car, and the tires must have run over something sharp and deflated on their own. Yeah. No need to be afraid. That was just silly.

A chill suddenly ran down my spine. A large shadow slowly crept up from behind and completely engulfed my entire body, blocking out the light and turning the air frigid. A high pitched ringing began to course throughout my ears. It hurt, felt like there was static scratching, scraping at my brain, reducing it to nothingness. I reached up and held my head in my hands, trying to shake off the feeling—the feeling that there was…something standing behind me. Something big.

My heart clenched at the thought. I swallowed nervously as it sped up faster, and faster, faster until it felt like it would burst right out of my chest. I couldn't breathe.

_Who's there?_

My stomach caving in on itself, I ever so slowly craned my head over my shoulder.

A towering figure in dark clothes stood over me, silently watching. I sat there frozen in fear as the void face leaned closer and closer to mine, only inches away from the tip of my nose. A black, slender hand reached out towards my quivering form. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I was hypnotized.

"…..…"

"What in the…_hell is that_—Pewdie! G-get away! Run! _NOW!_" A warm hand suddenly grabbed onto my forearm and yanked me backwards. Disoriented, I tumbled off the hood of the car and crashed onto the gravel. I was roughly dragged across the ground, and the world turned into a blur of dark colors. The ringing still echoed in my mind over and over again.

"Please, friend, get up! GET UP! I can't do this much longer!"

As the noise started to fade away, my world pieced itself back together. Cry was gripping me by my underarms and half-dragging, half-carrying me down the side of the road and into the woods. His mask was askew, and the part of his face showing was wracked with anxiety and fear. Using him as support I pulled myself up, and he grasped my hand as we started to dodge through the trees. I could barely keep up with him and stumbled occasionally, for my mind was still in a state of chaos.

I don't know how long we ran. It felt like an eternity. But when we were so exhausted we could barely speak, and I felt like I was about to throw up, we finally slowed to a stop. Both of us panted in exhaustion as we collapsed to the dirt.

I swallowed, trying to quench my dry throat. "…Wha...what…was that thing…?"

"I…have no…idea…" Cry managed to gasp out before he started coughing violently.

The next few minutes were spent on the ground as we tried to catch our breath and calm down. When I was finally under control again I sat up and rested my arms on top of my knees. Cry did the same, using his arms as support as he leaned back with his legs crossed.

"What do we do now?" I asked, "I don't even remember where we came from. Where's the road?"

The brunette readjusted his mask before responding, "I was too busy running to pay attention to where we were going. I don't remember either."

"…So now we're lost?"

"I guess so."

I rubbed my eyes with my palms. "Well, shit. Do we still have any of the stuff you found?"

Cry nodded and shrugged off a small, grey backpack that I hadn't noticed before. He then handed it over to me, and I zipped open the largest pocket. The med kit, flashlight, and one of the water bottles were inside. "I was in the middle of packing everything when I looked up and saw that…thing about to grab you. My first instinct was to get us out of there—I-I'm sorry, I left some stuff behind."

I slightly frowned at that. "Don't worry about it, Cry. I'm just glad we're both okay! You saved me," I exclaimed, scooting forward and pulling the gamer into a tight bear hug. In that moment he could have easily just high-tailed it out of there and left me to fend for myself, but instead Cry turned back and risked everything to get me. Not many people would do that. It was calming to know I had a true friend like him.

He returned the embrace and laughed. "Pewdie, you know I'd never leave you behind! I know all too well that you wouldn't survive ten minutes without me."

I quickly pulled back. "Yeah, I totally would!" I argued.

"You so wouldn't."

"Well—well… you suck, so there!" I stuck out my tongue like a ten-year old and pretended to pout. I couldn't keep a straight face, though, and soon enough the two of us were laughing again.

Funny how even in a situation like this we could still smile and joke around.

After we had calmed ourselves down, Cry stood up and put on the backpack, dusting the dirt off his jeans and green hoodie. He held out a hand and I firmly grasped it, using it as leverage to get back on my feet. We then looked around at our environment. The trees seemed to choke out any light from the sky, looming over us like giants. It was pretty quiet, save for the occasional cricket chirp or gust of wind passing through; the silence held a sort of tension in the air, as if something was about to jump out of the shadows and scare the living daylights out of me.

We didn't really know where we came from or where to head next, so Cry and I simply picked a direction and started walking. Hopefully we were going the right way. If we weren't…well, then I guess we'd have to just deal with it. There was no other option.


	2. Chapter 2

**Finally got around to updating chapter 2, so enjoy, as always! Remember to review and tell me what you thought about it ^^**

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**Chapter 2**

Our footsteps crunched on the ground as we continued walking, the snapping of small twigs and leaves filling the dull silence. It seemed as if we had managed to lose that..._whatever _it was_._ Cry seemed to be doing okay now—at least, on the outside he seemed so; I, however, was still very unsettled by the whole thing.

That monster…it wasn't human. I didn't know what it was, but it definitely wasn't human. When I saw it for the first time, I was so afraid that I could only stare back in my petrified state. It was as if my mind was being bent to its will when that blank face leaned closer and closer. Had I just been so overwhelmed that I couldn't move until Cry stepped in? Or was it something else? Had it been _controlling_ me?

I really had no idea. I was just glad we had a flashlight right now.

"Turn it off. You're wasting the batteries."

I'll admit I slightly jumped at the sound of Cry's voice. For the past half hour or so after we'd gotten lost, neither of us had spoken a word, each recovering from the encounter whilst dwelling in his own thoughts.

I hesitated but obeyed anyways. "I'm sorry, I just feel a lot better when I can see everything." With the click of a button the light in front of us disappeared.

"It's okay. I just want to be able to use the flashlight when we really need it," Cry explained.

"Even so…" I started, "I feel like that thing's gonna pop out of the trees, or something." I anxiously switched the black device back and forth between my hands. "I don't trust this damn silence. It's creeping me out."

The other chuckled at that, although I did notice the slight waver in his voice. The unnerving silence took over once again as we made our way forward.

There was something that I was really itching to say, but I feared doing so would just make everything seem more real…and then I couldn't pretend this was all some kind of terrible nightmare anymore. God, I hoped it was a nightmare. A really, really bad nightmare, like the kind that when you wake up, you're sweating profusely and crying into your pillow; the kind where you're so shaken that you want to go running over to your parents' bed and cuddle with them in the warm, safe blankets. It was the kind that never truly left your memory, and twenty years later you could still remember it like it happened yesterday.

I had to say it. The feeling this was invoking wouldn't go away by itself.

I tugged on his sweatshirt sleeve, and we both stopped simultaneously. "Cry—"

"Pewds—"

We both let out a quiet laugh—of _course_ we had to speak at the exact same time after such a long silence. "You first," he said, turning to fully face me.

"'Kay." I took a deep breath as my friend intently watched me behind his poker face mask. "I just….ugh. I don't really wanna say this, but if-if we've been walking the right way, shouldn't we have found the road by now? I mean…it's—um—it's been a while, right? Since we started walking?"

I tried to will away the growing knot in my stomach. Even though the majority of his face was hidden, I could tell that my question had affected the gamer from his tone. "…Maybe."

_That could mean a lot of things. _The thought sunk in for a moment before I spoke again. "Okay, now you go."

With a barely audible sigh the American directed my attention to the ground, where a certain spot was drenched dark red, staining the grass and fallen sticks. A few inches away lay a small, slightly crinkled piece of paper. The top left corner was spattered with drops of what we both knew—even though we wouldn't dare say it out loud—was blood.

"…The hell?" I muttered, crouching down and picking it up.

"Exactly what I thought," Cry commented as he leaned closer to examine the item. As he did this, I opened it up and smoothed it out. It was standard notebook paper, the kind with the blue lines of ink running horizontally across. "Hmm. It looks like some kind of note, or letter, maybe."

We scanned our eyes across the paper. It read:

~xXx~

_Dear Mom,_

_It pains me to write this, because I know I will never see you again._

_I love you so much, and I truly hope that I was the daughter you always wanted. I know I fought with you a lot, and I always acted like the most ungrateful brat in the universe, but I want you to know that I didn't mean a word of it…When Dad left I was so confused and hurt—and I'm sure you were too—so I just closed up and ignored you. I tried to blame you for all of it, even though I knew that was just stupid… When you introduced me to Bryce for the first time, I didn't even give him a chance. I know I should have, 'cause Bryce is a really cool guy. I'm sure he would have been an awesome stepfather….Can you tell him that I wish the very best for you both?_

_But yeah. I just…I'm sorry. For all that I did. I'm sorry for all those times I called you terrible names without a second thought. I'm sorry for never saying "thank you" when you did all those mountains of my dirty laundry when I was too lazy to do it myself. I'm sorry for drowning you out with my headphones when you asked me how my day at school was. I'm sorry for not eating anything you made for dinner. Heck, I'm even sorry for leaving the toilet seat up, because I know you find it annoying! I never appreciated all you did for me, Mom. You are honestly the best mother anyone could have asked for, and I just wish I had taken the time to see that._

_But now it's too late, and that's why I'm writing this letter. It's kind of stupid, really, 'cause I know you're never going to read it anyways. And you deserve much more of an apology than this stupid thing. I know deep down in my gut that I will never get out of here…and so I have to say goodbye, even if it has to be in this way. _

_I really wish you were here with me. I'm scared, Mom. I'm lost, and all alone. It's dark here. I never thought I was afraid of the dark until now. And I think I'm going crazy… This thing, I don't even know if it's real or_

~xXx~

Cry and I both looked at each other as we read that last sentence. I bit my lip. "She didn't even have time to finish before…before…" I brought my gaze down to the crimson puddle, my body subconsciously shuddering at the thought.

_What did it do to her?_ I suddenly wondered,_ And where did it take her? What does it even want?_

"_It_". I didn't even know what to call "It". "It" was something neither Cry nor I understood. "It" was trying to kill us…or worse.

I glanced at the trees around me nervously. _ …Is it still following us?_

"Pewds… relax. You're shaking." Cry's warm hands rested themselves on top of my shoulders. I realized what he was doing and shook him off, muttering an "I'm fine". I had played enough horror games and witnessed enough jumpscares to give a cow a heart attack; by now, I should've been able to control my fear! I didn't need Cry's help…

A disturbing thought: _What would have happened if I had let it touch me?_

Would I already have been dead? Bleeding to death? Limbless? Locked in some dark, moldy basement with the mangled corpses of countless others before me?

Even knowing that I wasn't alone—that I had my very best friend here with me—still wasn't comforting enough to quell the uneasy shivers coursing throughout me. For all I knew, I had been seconds away from death… I had a very bad feeling that me and Cry were in danger. Mortal danger.

And it was _all my fault_. Me and my stupid _fucking_ idiocy had gotten us into this mess. If only I had been more careful, if only I had not turned on that damn camera, if only I hadn't looked up at that time to see that _thing _standing there, daring me to watch, we wouldn't be lost out here in the middle of nowhere, with no car, no reception, and being stalked by a dangerous psychopathic person or thing or _whatever the hell it was!_

_This is not happening. This is not happening. This is still a nightmare, dammit! _Despite my efforts, the tremors worsened as these thoughts raced through my head, mocking me with their sheer cruelty. I was so lost in my head that I didn't notice Cry come closer until he gently pulled me into a hug. I squeezed my eyes shut, a part of me hoping that when I opened them back up, I would be back in the passenger seat of the car as we drove along, laughing and joking around without a care in the world.

"I-I'm scared, Cry…" I barely whispered. My knees weakened, and I felt myself collapsing against him. I didn't even care how much of a baby I was being right now; I just needed to know that he was here with me. That I wasn't going insane. That I wasn't facing this alone.

"…I am too, friend, I am too."

We stayed in that position for a few minutes while I recollected myself. The dull, steady beat of the other gamer's heart was soothing, and it lulled me back into my previous state of composure. It was okay. We were going to get out of this, alive. As long as we kept cool and didn't make stupid mistakes, everything would eventually come together. And when that happened, I could see Marzia again.

"You're such a great friend, Cry," I smiled weakly.

Once the other gamer was sure that I wasn't going to have a seizure, he loosened his grip and we somewhat awkwardly pulled apart. I stared at him, unsure what to say or do next. And as I stared, I couldn't help but realize something:

_My god, that was so…gay. So fucking…gay. HAH!_

I suddenly snickered at the thought, all remaining bad feelings flying out the window. What just happened could have been a scene taken straight out of a cheesy, cliché PewdieCry fanfiction! Me and Cry always had some fun reading those (although it did get a bit awkward when we came across those R-rated ones). Those fangirls were insane…

But in all honesty, I was actually a bit shocked about Cry's reaction to this. I mean, just think about it: How many friends did I have who would do something like that without cringing or making fun of me? Most of them would outright refuse!

Seriously, even Marzia would probably laugh at me. It would be just a little teasing for acting like such a little girl, but still. I hated it how society had created this image of how a guy was supposed to be—namely, a tall, strong male who was brave, adventurous, athletic, and who never _ever _cried. I mean, I hadn't actually been crying, but you get my point. Even my girlfriend who I loved dearly didn't fully understand that.

But Cry did, and for that I was grateful.

Apparently the brunette had, too, realized the super gayness of the situation, and he laughed along with me. "No problemo! I don't want to see that B-A-_eautiful _face of yours all scrunched up in a frown. Besides, it's gonna give you wrinkles early. You don't wanna look like an old man, do you?"

I jabbed him in the elbow. "HAH! Are you kidding me? This face is too damn sexy for that. You can't even handle it, bro!" I struck an idiotic pose and batted my eyelashes. He let out a few boisterous laughs at this, and I quickly chimed in. These eventually turned into loud, rhythmic snorts that made my belly ache and had me sounding like a retarded pig.

I was still trying to contain myself as the American suddenly became unnaturally still, any chuckles immediately dying down into silence…And then he was just staring, staring blankly with that white mask. He opened his mouth to say something, but he inhaled sharply and shut it again so that his lips were pressed tightly together in a line.

"What's wr…" I started, but cut myself off when I realized what it was.

It was back. That unbearable, ear-shattering noise. It became louder, occasionally breaking into what sounded like points of static on a defective TV. A feeling of dread wormed its way into my stomach once more as my shoulders tensed up. _Is it here? _Cry and I both covered our ears, trying to block out the ringing as we cautiously looked around in the darkness.

Then without warning the noise suddenly stopped, leaving behind nothing but a pounding headache and heart. I looked over to Cry, trying to confirm that the terrible sound had indeed disappeared; he nodded slowly as if in a dream. But like before, I didn't trust the overwhelming silence. I swiftly clicked on the flashlight, preparing for the worst.

There were trees, nothing but trees, bushes, and the occasional patch of grass. Somewhere to the right, an owl softly hooted as we peered through the darkness.

"…Pewds?"

"Hmm?" I shakily flicked off the light. _Maybe it's gone now…_

"D'ya think maybe it's go—"

More static. It kept fading in and out at random intervals. Again I held my head in my hands, attempting to block out the noise. I tried to pinpoint the source, but it was no good—it seemed to come from every which direction. The world started to spin again. Was this all in my head?

"What the hell is going on…?" I didn't know about Cry, but I did _not_ want to stand around and wait to be attacked! I staggered over and grabbed the other's wrist. He nearly lost balance as I led the way, stumbling through the trees as quickly and as quietly as possible.

"Come on!" I whispered desperately. He caught on and followed suit, moving in a way that was like a cross between tip-toeing and powerwalking. The two of us slipped through the trees and prayed that itcouldn't hear the crunching of our footsteps.

Luckily, the sound seemed to completely fade away as we broke into a small clearing. We relaxed once the tense atmosphere settled a bit and took the time to absorb the new surroundings.

Here you could actually see the night sky; the moon shone down and offset long shadows across the ground in an eerie way. In the center of the grove there was a small depression in the dirt. As we caught our breath, Cry and I treaded carefully as we approached the scene, searching for any signs of life.

Once we had ensured the place was secure (at least, for now), the two of us crouched down to investigate. It was a firepit, covered in ashes and blackened sticks and leaves. A few feet away lay the collapsed remains of what appeared to be a camping tent.

Cry reached down and used his forefinger to scoop up some of the debris in the pit. "It's…warm," he commented, wiping it on the grass, "It's possible someone was here not too long ago."

I nodded slowly. _They must have been out camping when that thing found them…_ _Could this mean there's another person alive out here? Are they going through what we are? Or were they taken the second it found them? _I headed over to the tent and circled around it, searching for anything that could be of use. It didn't take long for me to notice the ruined sleeping bag, pillow, and shattered pieces of unidentifiable equipment. I rummaged through them but quickly determined that everything here was far beyond repair.

Just as I was about to return to Cry and the firepit, something interesting caught the corner of my eye; resting against a tree at the other end of the clearing lay another white sheet of paper. It looked similar to the one we found earlier—the same size and horizontal lines. Perhaps the girl had written more than one letter?

I walked over, knelt down, and retrieved the paper. Taking up the entire page were the words:

_HEl__**P**__ mE_

It was written in blood. The letters were disorganized and looked like they had been written in haste, resulting in sloppy handwriting that was barely legible. Confused, I flipped the sheet over to see if there was more on the back. It was completely blank.

"Hey, Cry, come look at this," I called.

In a few moments I felt Cry's presence behind me, his hot breath gently tickling the back of my neck. "What's that?"

"Look," I handed him the sheet, "It's the same paper as the one with the letter." I let him look it over before continuing, "That doesn't make sense, though. Why would she…"

Why would this girl spend a bunch of time writing a formal letter to her mom in pen, but then turn around and write this in sloppy blood? Furthermore, it had been made pretty clear to us that she was already…well, dead.

_Dead. She's dead. _It sounded so final, so cruel. Each time the word passed through my thoughts, it felt like a hard slap to the cheek on a sub-zero day, in which the bitter weather made the burning pain last for several minutes.

As if he read my thoughts, Cry said, "Well, we don't actually know if this was made by her or not—"

"But what are the chances—"

He hushed me before continuing. "Yeah, but we don't know squat. For all we know, this _thing _could've stranded fifty other people out here… So this could really have been anyone. And looking at this paper, I don't see a resemblance to the letter. I mean, look, this person used their own frickin' blood to write this! Who _does_ that?!" He stared at it in bewilderment.

I tore my eyes away from the disturbing note. "I…I don't know. Let's just go, Cry. I can't stand looking at this anymore…" My lip slightly quivered as I turned away and started walking back to the firepit. The less I thought about it, the easier it would be to handle.

However, the brunette clamped a hand on my shoulder and stopped me mid-step. "Wait."

I turned back around and slightly frowned at him. "…What?"

"I just realized something," the older male gently pulled me closer to the edge of the clearing, "If we stand out in the open, it'll be easier for that thing to find us." His grip tightened on my shoulder as he said this.

I shrugged him off, but not before allowing his words to sink in. "You're probably right," I admitted.

Cry sighed, beckoning me back into the trees. "C'mon, friend, we need to get moving again. I don't like the idea of staying in one place too long. We'd be sitting ducks."

"…Um, yeah."

"_Sitting ducks?" What's that supposed to mean?_ My brow furrowed at the thought before I decided to disregard it. Some of these American phrases were so weird! How could anyone expect me, a Swede, to know what that means? When I thought of sitting ducks, I thought of two rubber duckies in rocking chairs, smoking pipes and talking about the "Jolly good weather we're having". And I knewthat wasn't at _all_ what Cry meant.

Regardless of my confusion, I still agreed and followed Cry back into the darkness. We were best friends, and I trusted that he knew what was best—or at least, better than what I could come up with.

As long as we didn't run into that monster again, I couldn't care less what we did.


End file.
